Editing Cointreau (section)

== Production ==
Cointreau Distillery was set up in 1849 by Adolphe Cointreau, a [[confectioner]], and his brother Édouard-Jean Cointreau. Their first success was with the cherry liqueur [[Guignolet]], but they also found success when they blended sweet and bitter orange peels and pure alcohol from [[sugar beet]]s. The first bottles of Cointreau were sold in 1875. An estimated 13 million bottles are sold each year, in more than 150 countries. Ninety percent of production is exported. Cointreau & Cie SA was family-owned until 1990, when it merged with [[Rémy Martin]] to form [[Rémy Cointreau]], now a publicly traded company.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.remy-cointreau.com/en/group/our-history/ | date=2020-08-25 | title=Our History | publisher=Remy Cointreau website | access-date=2020-08-25}}</ref><ref name="nytimes1989">{{cite news | last=Ramirez | first=Anthony |date=1989-11-11 |title=Remy Martin and Cointreau Plan to Merge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/11/business/remy-martin-and-cointreau-plan-to-merge.html |work=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York |access-date=2020-08-25}}</ref>

The production methods and recipe are a [[trade secret|family secret]], but public tours of the facility are offered. Photography is restricted in many areas to protect the production process from being copied.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Visiting the Cointreau Distillery |url=https://www.francetravelguide.com/visiting-the-cointreau-distillery.html |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.francetravelguide.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Cointreau - Drink Secrets |url=http://www.drinksecrets.com/ingredient/cointreau/i43c6 |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=www.drinksecrets.com |language=en-US}}</ref>